thanks for the fun, 2011!

oh 2011, have you really come and gone already?  i'll miss you, but i won't forget my favorite memories that you've brought:

the philly flower show this past february.  tulips...everywhere!

the attempt to catch a sunrise in lbi.  it turned out to be too hazy, but it was still a lot of fun (minus rob practically using a crow bar to get me out of bed.)

our boston adventure (it was rob's first visit!)...

surprising rob with a trip to nyc to see our good friend, mr. stoudemire...

and his first submission to an art show.

lazy days at the beach and visiting my favorite president, george washington...

having cake, and eating it, too.

venturing out in a monsoon, spending time at the shore with good friends, watching my sister graduate from her pediatric dental residency........then seeing her get ENGAGED!

visiting the museum of natural science and buying a uklelele for my grandfather's 88th birthday (seriously, that's what he told us he wanted.)

finding a new place to live on the hottest day of summer, almost having a retro floor, finally moving into a lovely little apartment...

...and making it our home.

starting physical therapy school and finding treasures out of someone else's trash...



saying goodbye to old friends,

and sharing happiest moments with best ones.

going apple picking, watching thunderstorms from our balcony, hosting an ugly sweater party, and making homemade pizza on fridays...and saturdays...(and maybe sundays)...

but most of all, spending it all with my favorite guy.

have the happiest new year! 
see you in 2012!

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bye-bye, beardo.

because rob had off from work last week, he got to grow his beard back! 

(best christmas present ever.)

......unfortunately, 5 days passed quicker than we'd liked.  we'll miss you, beardo.  please come back for our cruise!

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very merry.

so grateful for the happiest christmas this year.

nothing makes me more complete than a weekend with unending laughter (and appetites) and the people who mean the most to me.











merry christmas & happy holidays.

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merry christmas!

just wanted to wish everyone a very (belated) merry christmas! rob and i stuffed ourselves with delicious food (breakfast special by dad, dinner special by mom, and dessert special by kristy), facetimed with our cousins in england, exchanged gifts, and played hours of board games with family.

i wish it could be christmas everyday.

hope everyone had a great holiday!

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good friends, bad sweaters. (part ll)

one of the greatest things about this weekend is that my roommates trekked down from boston to visit! i am incredibly lucky to see them on somewhat of a regular basis, despite our long distance. (then again, i don't think we'd have it any other way.)

side note: although they "technically" haven't been my roommates going on two years now, i've resolved myself to the fact that i'll still always call them that.

they got up early in the morning to help me make desserts, food, and one-of-a-kind decorations.  since we've been in college, the flis paper chain is a tradition...nothing makes her (and us) happier.

tie of the night award went to nuge... (see below).

 

santa even stopped by!

best sweater went to flis (below) and alex (he hand-installed a light up, battery powered snowman on his back.  he brought his christmas A-game...especially impressive considering he tried pulling the russian "foreign" card in christmas pictionary all night.)

after this weekend, i am convinced that good friends are the best kind of presents.

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good friends, bad sweaters. (part l)

with the holidays being so hectic nowadays, i feel like few people really get a chance to stop and appreciate the here and now.  

what better way to do it than with an ugly sweater party?

to everyone that came to visit rob and i this weekend,

we are so grateful for each and every one of you. regardless of the holiday, thank you for being such a wonderful part of our lives. we love you. 

ps. to those of you who came but escaped awful portraits (kovac), we haven't forgotten.

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door-decorating competitions

every year, our apartment complex has a holiday door-decorating contest.  since a) it's the first christmas we've been here b) i know how competitive rob is, and c) pt school has sucked all of the creativity out of me, we were really excited about it. 

rob was a champ and stayed up late with me, glittering practically everything on the door. another one of the many reasons why i love him.

(our paper gumdrops!)

here's our finished product!  it's amazing what you can come up with with some glitter & garland (thanks, mom and kris!), parcel paper, and a couple of poster boards.

i hope everyone who passes our door can enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it! 

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